Japan brewer pursues 'Monster Cane' ethanol dream (Reuters)

IE ISLAND, Japan (Reuters) - It is three meters tall and productive even in poor soil, it holds up in droughts and typhoons, and it yields twice as many stems as most sugarcane. No wonder they call it "Monster Cane." This new variety of sugarcane, named for its size as much as its vigor, is grown on a test field on the tiny island of Ie in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa. When a powerful typhoon swept through the region last month, knocking down trees and houses, the cane was unharmed ...